Page 12 of The Outcast
“Yeah, that’s not happening!” Aubri stuck out her tongue with a gagging sound.
Their reaction made me laugh. “You realize that you’re talking about the most eligible bed partner in France, right? Most people would be honored to sleep with Victor.”
“That’s because French people are sapiosexual,” Indiana said. “At least that’s Freya’s theory.”
“You think?” I wasn’t sure what the word meant so I used my brain implant to look it up. “You think French people have a fetish for intelligence?”
“It’s the most logical explanation for why someone would want to have sex with a puppet like Victor,” Aubri claimed.
I chuckled. “Maybe that’s the reason forsomepeople, but don’t forget he has power and fame as well.”
Val spoke up, which was a rare occurrence. “And he’s pretty.”
Indiana scoffed. “That’s not a compliment, Val. No man wants to be pretty. We want to be rough and handsome.”
Val smiled. “You are.”
Indiana opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, before muttering, “Ehh, thanks, I guess. Wait, are you coming on to me?”
Aubri, Val, and I laughed at the confusion on Indiana’s face.
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I calmed his nerves, “Relax, Indy. In this country a man can give another man a compliment without it being a sexual advance, although often it is.”
Indiana reached for Aubri and placed his arm around her waist. “As long as people know I’m taken, I don’t care what they think.”
“Knowing and understanding are two different things,” I teased. “We’ve told you that your monogamy is a conundrum to us. We’re still waiting for you two to come to your senses.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” Aubri said. “Now tell us about your trip back here. We were told that Sparrow went with you. Is she okay?”
“Yes, I saw her return to the Northlands in Thor’s drone. She was fine.”
“And did anything happen between you?” Indiana asked in a gruffer voice than usual. I sensed the underlying threat and shook my head.
“No, we talked and had a nice time together, but I didn’t have sex with her if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s what I’m asking.” Indiana pinned me with his stare. I didn’t tell them about my kiss with Sparrow because I figured Indiana would overreact and because Sparrow might wish to keep the kiss a secret.
“How about we give you a day to get home and acclimate before we set out on our next expedition,” Aubri suggested. “We have a lot to talk about and plan. We’ll have to determine the profile of candidates and send out open invitations to test days. I’ll contact Sparrow and ask her to help us organize everything. The Explorer recruits should be selected and ready to go by the beginning of January.”
I grinned. “You may be the boss when we start training recruits in the Northlands, but I’m still your boss here, so stop telling me what to do. I won’t need a whole day of acclimation and you’re not getting the day off. Be ready to set out by two o’clock this afternoon.”
Aubri grinned back at me. “Aye, aye, Captain. But you’d better enjoy your last four months as the boss because soon, I’ll be the one giving the orders.”
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER3
Welcome Home
The Northlands – December 26th, 2466
Sparrow
The Gray Mansion was decorated with welcome home signs and flags.
Laura beamed and Magni repeated himself several times as if his mind was too excited to keep track of anything but the fact that today was the day that we had all been waiting for.
Aubri and Indiana would finally return from Old Europe. When last year the power five of the Northlands, meaning, Thor, Freya, Mason, Aubri, and Indiana, went to meet the prime minister of Old Europe, no one could have predicted the outcome.
